D.L.C. Drafts Alternative To Republican 'Contract'

The Democratic Leadership Council, the centrist organization that
President Clinton helped found, has called for massive increases in
education spending in a response to the g.o.p. "Contract With
America."

D.l.c. officials unveiled their "progressive alternative" at a
Washington news conference last week. The 10-point plan, ranging from
budget issues to defense and social reforms, was outlined in the
organization's bimonthly magazine, The New Democrat.

The magazine encourages the President to "articulate a new governing
philosophy rooted in the broad values and interests of average working
families rather than the narrow demands of pressure groups."

Most notably for educators, the d.l.c. proposes an infusion of more
than $18 billion into education and training programs over the next
five years above what was appropriated for the current fiscal year.
Most of that money would go to new Clinton Administration programs.

Of the $18 billion, the d.l.c. would allocate $6.4 billion for the
national-service program, tripling its planned size; $2.5 billion for
the school-to-work program; $6 billion for Head Start, which would be
used to serve more children; $1.8 billion for the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act, whose funding would rise to $1 billion annually; and $200
million for charter-schools grants, enough to pay for up to 1,000 new
schools a year. An additional $1.8 billion would go to education and
training for displaced workers.

The "progressive alternative" also urges the Administration to
"aggressively market" its direct-lending program for postsecondary
education to workers who may want to upgrade their skills or education
and provide $2,500 "job-opportunity vouchers" so that dislocated
workers can receive education and training from the source of their
choosing.

It also urges Mr. Clinton to redistribute "power from the national
government to states and localities," starting the process by convening
a "Federalism Convention."

In a speech last week to the d.l.c., his first major address since
the midterm elections, President Clinton characterized the Democrats'
stunning electoral defeat as "a slip and not a fall."

He reiterated his support for programs aiding the middle class.

He promised that his Administration would redouble its efforts in
behalf of "all the people who are trying to follow the rules, and are
sick and tired of people benefiting who don't."

Mr. Clinton said that providing security to the middle class
requires establishing a "system of lifetime education and training,"
and he proudly noted the education legislation passed by the 103rd
Congress.

Former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander last week joined the
ranks of many conservative education critics in calling for the
abolition of the Education Department.

He made the remarks at a conference sponsored by the Hudson
Institute, an Indianapolis-based think tank that has an office in
Washington.

Mr. Alexander is a senior fellow at Hudson and the chairman of a
project there called the "New Promise of American Life."

Mr. Alexander, who is expected to seek the 1996 g.o.p. Presidential
nomination, has been actively criticizing the Clinton Administration's
Goals 2000 law and the recently reauthorized Elementary and Secondary
Education Act.

At the conference, Mr. Alexander suggested that Congress eliminate
the Education Department, turn federal education programs over to the
states, and create a new position of Presidential adviser on
education.

Debra DeLee, the former director of governmental relations for the
National Education Association, has been named the acting chairwoman of
the Democratic National Committee.

Ms. DeLee will serve until a permanent successor to the former
chairman, David Wilhelm, is elected next month. She has been the
d.n.c.'s executive director for the past 10 months.

After her stint as acting chairwoman, Ms. DeLee will become the
chief executive officer of the Democratic National Convention
Committee.

President Clinton said in a statement that Ms. DeLee "has impressed
all of us with her good judgment, keen mind, and sound political
instincts."

--Mark Pitsch

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